How did They do it? Unveiling What “Best Companies” Do Differently
How do companies earn the privilege of being called "best"? What makes them the best in the first place??
To make it into Harvard's list of "best companies," companies need to appear on one or more of the "Best Companies to Work for Lists" in reputable business publications, such as Fortune and Inc. In addition, each company had to agree to be interviewed, let the editorial team meet with Human Resources departments, organize focus groups with employees, and tour the facilities. The aim was to derive general principles about why what they do is so fruitful. While no one formula can capture the traits of these companies and the marked ways that they prompt employees, below are some common themes that are found.
Put people first.
The best workplace places provide people with life satisfaction instead of job satisfaction alone. Almost all founders and leaders revealed that they built their companies with people in mind. A healthy culture is as essential as a healthy balance sheet. Their benefits go far beyond minimum wage.
Stories of benevolence we have gathered from companies range from companies that give extra time off when employees need it; companies that pay medical bills to supplement a family's insurance; companies that put a child of a deceased employee through college. When asked why they do this, the answer is typically along the lines of how profit is never the goal but that the purpose of every company is to help people live better lives.
Companies need to encourage employees to have some empathy and recognize that stress is a normal response to feeling out of control or vulnerable. Do some perspective-taking by putting yourself in their shoes. Leaders and managers need to truly understand what employees think and feel, even if they disagree or feel the same thing. This empathy forms the grounds of trust so that leaders can move into problem-solving mode. And don't assume that everyone needs the same things. Invite them to think about it together to navigate the challenges and encourage them to balance the work to be accomplished with essential self-care needs and their life outside work.
Help Employees Recognize and Seek Their Passions
Many successful companies find ways to rejuvenate employees by helping them identify their "calling" to provide them with work that provides them with the greatest fulfillment. We call this calling their Grand WHY. Doing so increases productivity and makes people feel happy — lucky even — to be at work.?
Companies need to encourage employees to self-examine their interests and find what they truly excel at. Because the surest way to improve performance is to give people something they like doing.
Bring People Together on a Personal Level
Many companies have realized that their success relies upon the goodness and solidarity of groups, so they need to put quite a bit of effort into bringing people together. One example is by making a big deal out of momentous dates. Why? Because it is the human or compassionate thing to do.?
Like good families, good companies have the same obligation. If companies want to create a sense of community among their teams, they need to create shared experiences. These 'successful' companies create that shared experiences through celebrating special occasions together and acknowledging critical life-cycle transitions.
Building meaningful relationships is hard work. The best companies realize that personal affinities and deep social relationships are failsafe measures against team disintegration and are essential for top team performance.
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Leaders and managers can start doing this by implementing these simple steps:
Empower Employees to Own Their Work
Many best companies repeatedly revealed that they want their employees to think and act like owners. Allowing them to control aspects of their work is the key to accomplishing this. Employees who have the space to rearrange, modify and improve their duties feel possession over them, and once this happens, their mindsets begin to change. Instead of focusing on what can't be done, they engage with what can. As a result, they can grow, innovate, and push their companies forward more quickly.
Of course, letting people work within their capacities and a little beyond also means leaders must accept that people can occasionally fail. For the best companies, failures are a fact of life and necessary for personal and organizational growth. Thus, the companies we met with normalizing the acceptance of periodic failures.
Create an Environment Where Employees Can Be Themselves
Employees realize that they will forever bump against conventions, others' preferences, and various confinements that restrict what they can and can't do at work. But these do not necessarily have to prevent them from doing their passions and beliefs. In a word, employees within these best companies have found a place where they can be their "authentic" selves. How?
By being life-affirming, where they show an outward expression of who they are and what they stand for. People who behave in accord with their values have better work ethics. They are more morally engaged, less docile to circumstance, and will choose principle over the enticement.
Leaders are obligated to foster human potential and support human flourishing as part of their roles. If we do not have meaningful intents for the company, then for whom and for what do we go through all this trouble?
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